Wrestling: Felix Places Second

By Brian Kuppelweiser

|

November 02, 2011 01:02 PM

|

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia wrestling assistant coach Danny Felix placed second in the 121-pound men’s freestyle division at the Sunkist Kids International Open, which was held in Mesa, Arizona this past weekend.

“The experience was good,” Felix said. “I haven’t wrestled in a year and a half, so it was much needed in order to knock the rust off. I am not necessarily happy with second, but I was happy with my overall performance.”

After securing an opening round bye, Felix began the tournament with a second round matchup against Cody Brewer of Norman, Okla. Felix defeated Brewer, 3-2, 1-8, 1-0.

Frank Mensah of Vancouver, Canada was Felix’s quarterfinals match.

After losing the first period by a 3-0 margin to Mensah, Felix rebounded to win the final two periods 1-0, 1-0 to setup a semifinal match against Jake Hergenhein.

The victory set up a finals match against Henry Cejudo. Cejudo was the 2008 Olympic Gold medalist and was competing for the first time since his Olympic win.

“Henry and I are friends,” said Felix. “We both grew up in the same neighborhood, so there is a little bit of history with us. If a guy like that doesn’t make you step it up and be ready to wrestle, then nothing will.”

Felix gave Cejudo everything he could handle, but fell, 1-0, 1-0.

“I would have loved to seize the moment and beat the Olympic champion,” said Felix. “It was an honor to go against Henry. It is what you are in the sport for – to go against a person of that caliber. It lets you know where you are at. I went to wrestle the Olympic champ and it was a great opportunity and it is going to make me better for it.”

Felix will continue his pursuit of gaining a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, while also returning to the Mountaineers for his fourth season as an assistant coach.

Also experiencing success at the Sunkist Kids International Open was former WVU wrestler Kurt Brenner.

Brenner, a member of the Mylan Olympic Development Program, defeated three-time All-American and 2004 NCAA Championships runner-up Tyron Lewis, who is also a volunteer assistant at Oklahoma.